Calbucci and Garavini are ones to watch in Cervia

This week sees the fifth edition of the ITF Beach Tennis World Championships taking place on the Adriatic resort of Cervia, Italy.

Five days of beach tennis action commences on 31 July and will feature the current world No. 1s Alessandro Calbucci, Marco Garavini and Eva D’Elia.

2011 champion Calbucci and returning champion Garavini will be teaming up and their combined experience will surely make them the team to beat. Another dangerous partnership in the men’s event will be the 2011 European champions Michele Cappelletti and Luca Carli and who are currently ranked at No. 3 and No. 4 in the world respectively.

Sadly, the women’s champions of the past two years, Simona Briganti and Laura Oliviera, will not be back to try for a hat trick of world titles together but there will be no shortage of players staking a claim for the much coveted title such is the high standard throughout the women’s draw.

Italy has dominated all previous World Championships but with more nations taking up the sport and improving each year, we could well see the crowning of the first non-Italian winners!

Competitors from 15 countries took part in the 2012 Championships and for the 2013 Championships this number has risen to an impressive 21.

The draws will be made tomorrow (30 July) and will be posted online here and for those lucky enough to be able to attend the Championships in person, the weather forecast for the entire week is hot and sunny!

The Ravenna province in Italy has long been considered the heart of beach tennis, and Cervia has hosted one of the most successful Grade 1 events on the ITF Beach Tennis Tour since 2010. The 2013 Championships will be staged at Bagno Delfino on the Cervia coast with 20 match courts in use.

The ITF Beach Tennis Tour was launched in 2008, and continues to grow each year, with 152 events staged in 32 countries in 2012.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “We are delighted to see the continued growth of the Beach Tennis Tour. The ITF Beach Tennis World Championships remain a focal point of the beach tennis calendar, and it is fitting that this year’s event is staged in such an active region for the sport. The Italian Tennis Federation are experienced hosts of these world championships, and we are confident that the event can go from strength to strength.”